Care for Creation book review

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Once again I have been asked by Tribute Books to review one of their recently published works. This time it is Care for Creation by Christy Baldwin and Shelly Draven.

The children’s book is an nice little tome in which children are introduced to the basics of stewardship of the Earth by way of standard environmentalist (or conservationist) beliefs and practical solutions.

Each point is interspersed with a selection from Sacred Scripture (NIV and “The Message” translations, neither of which are Catholic) that is relevant to that point. This offers a refreshing break away from the arbitrarily political and scientifically questionable arguments made along the “climate change” front. A good, solid Scriptural basis for common-sense care for the creation of God that we are entrusted with is a good way to involve the next generation in this work.

Throughout the book there are wonderful illustrations on each of the points made to care for creation.

I accepted the offer to review this book by the reason that as we are to care for ourselves in our recovery from alcoholism and addiction, we can extend that outward towards the world about us. I occasionally write that we are to “go outside to get outside” of ourselves. That is, we are to experience the beauty of God’s creation so as to get outside or our own heads. Helping the generation inheriting our planet is a fine way to go about doing that.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Patience has a practical purpose

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The Reading from Evening Prayer for today has advice concerning patience, a topic not unfamiliar in 12 Step Meetings:

James 1:2-4: “My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing.”

(Via Universalis.)

Sounds like patience is a practical tool for “spiritual progression”, a goal much sought-after by 12 Steppers. We all seek to become better that we were, to develop a stronger sobriety, to become more spiritual.

Trials have a purpose, they test our faith and our commitment to God. We endure them and grow stronger as a result, or we resist them and become bitter, or worse we surrender and drink again.

Our choice. They will enter our life whether we wish to or not, how we react to them is mark of our sobriety and faith.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Death as a kind of detachment

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Today was All Soul’s Day, the day the Church reminds us of the dead who still suffer the pains of Purgatory. My other blog, The Four Last Things primarily concerns itself about such things, and you can read information of the day and Purgatory there.

Today’s Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours (or Divine Office) had a Reading from the writings of St. Ambrose, on the death of his brother Satyrus. There was a passage that may be of particular concern to those suffering from sex addiction, or any problems with lust and pornography. It can also be of use to anyone who suffers from other passions, perhaps impatience or excessive anger. Read on:

Office of Readings: All Soul’s Day: “We see that death is gain, life is loss. Paul says: For me life is Christ, and death a gain. What does ‘Christ’ mean but to die in the body, and receive the breath of life? Let us then die with Christ, to live with Christ. We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death. By this kind of detachment our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body. It must soar above earthly lusts to a place where they cannot come near, to hold it fast. “

(Via Universalis.)

The mortality of our lives reminds us of our ultimate destination, and how comparatively transitory our life here is. The passions of our body, be they sexual or emotional, offer a temporary conquest of our frustrations. The sad emotional aftermath when we realize that we had fallen and the conquest was fleeting is the price we pay for focusing on the immediate satisfaction and losing sight of our ultimate goal.

Focusing on our mortality enables us to remember where we desire to end up for all eternity, and that our moral choices determine this. This focusing on death need not be morbid if we view death as just “our way home.”

It may help us arise from our need for immediate satisfaction or gratification of our passions and emotions.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

PAINT THE RIGHT PORTRAIT OF YOUR LIFE

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Spirit Daily once again has an excellent article of particular relevance to Sober Catholic readers. In the article: PAINT THE RIGHT PORTRAIT OF YOUR LIFE we are exhorted to pay attention to cleaning up and developing our interior life. Get rid of all the useless garbage inside ourselves and we will make progress towards becoming our true self (the person we really will be in Heaven) by finding our mission here in this life.

This is basically the goals of recovery movements: clean up our act, discard our character defects, not just the external but the internal, “recover” who and what we were probably meant to be.

Read the more in depth article at Spirit Daily
.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Joy in trials

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The Evening Prayer for yesterday had this excerpt from the Letter of James:

James 1:2-4: “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

(Via USCCB.)

Easy faith is easy. It doesn’t stand trials. Encounter any problem with life, and we all have many, and easy faith turns to despair. Or, a loss of faith and perhaps a “conversion” to an easier religious faith.

James believes that good, sincere, faithful faith understands that trials happen in life, and faith is the way to cope with them, and in doing so such faith grows and becomes stronger. It perseveres and assists the person trudging through life endure to life’s end.

They joy in James’s reference is probably this understanding that we become stronger to endure through to the end of life. Trials are a reminder that this life is not permanent and that we are destined for something greater.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Audio Rosaries!

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My friend Sean over at the Catholic Roundup recorded the full Rosary at the Catholic New Media Celebration held this past August in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Attendees recorded some meditations, and Our Father and a Hail Mary for the project. Not all who participated in the project attended the CNMC: my wife Rose (of ARTIST4GOD) and I were recorded by Sean when he and his family stayed at our house en route to the conference.

Here are the links to each Mystery, from there you can download the MP3 file for play on your desktop, notebook or mp3 player. The links also list who recorded what and where, so you can discover where I said mine, and why I will probably never do podcasting. :-0

The Joyful Mysteries

The Luminous Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Glorious Mysteries

(Via Catholic Roundup)

I am posting these today as it is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Novena to St. Therese, the “Little Flower”: Day Nine

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Prayers to begin novena with each day:

Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of divine love.

V. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created.

R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray: O God, who have instructed the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant that by the gift of the same Spirit, we may be ever truly wise and rejoice in His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love: O my God! I believe in Thee: strengthen my faith. All my hopes are in Thee: do Thou secure them. I love Thee: teach me to love Thee daily more and more.

The Act of Contrition: O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend You, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

Ninth Day Intentions:

Dear Little St. Thérèse, by love and suffering while you were on earth, you won the power with God which you now enjoy in heaven. Since your life there began, you have showered down countless blessings on this poor world; you have been an instrument made use of by your divine Spouse to work countless miracles. I beg of you to remember all my wants. Sufferings must come to me also, may I use them to love God more, and follow my Jesus better. You are especially the little missionary of love. Make me love Jesus more, and all others for His sake. With all my heart I thank the most Holy Trinity for the wonderful blessings conferred on you, and upon the world through you.

Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.

Thought for the day: The Mission of the Little Flower. I do not intend to remain inactive in Heaven. I want to work for the Church and for souls. I have asked this of God and I am certain that He will grant my request.

I will spend my Heaven doing good upon earth. This is not impossible, since the angels though always enjoying the beatific vision, watch over us. No, I cannot be at rest until the end of the world.

I beseech Thee, O Jesus, to cast Thy divine glance on a great number of little souls. I beg of Thee to choose in this world a legion of little victims, worthy of Thy Love.

Concluding Prayer Prayed Each Day:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

Background for this post is here .

Courtesy:

LITTLE FLOWER NOVENA

(Via EWTN.)

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Novena to St. Therese, the “Little Flower”: Day Eight

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Prayers to begin novena with each day:

Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of divine love.

V. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created.

R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray: O God, who have instructed the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant that by the gift of the same Spirit, we may be ever truly wise and rejoice in His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love: O my God! I believe in Thee: strengthen my faith. All my hopes are in Thee: do Thou secure them. I love Thee: teach me to love Thee daily more and more.

The Act of Contrition: O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend You, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

Eighth Day Intentions:

Dear St. Thérèse, like you I have to die one day. I beseech you, obtain from God, by reminding Him of your own precious death, that I may have a holy death, strengthened by the Sacraments of the Church, entirely resigned to the most holy Will of God, and burning with love for Him. May my last words on earth be, “My God. I love You.”

Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen.

Thought for the day: Death. It says in the catechism that death is nothing but the separation of the soul and body. Well, I have no fear of a separation which will unite me forever with the good God.

I am happy to die because I shall be able to help souls who are dear to me, far more than I can here below.

Life is not sad; it is very joyous. If you say, “This exile is sad,” I understand you. We are wrong to give the name “life” to something which will end; it is only to the things of Heaven that we should apply this beautiful name.

Concluding Prayer Prayed Each Day:

O Lord, You have said: Unless you become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; grant us, we beg You, so to follow, in humility and simplicity of heart, the footsteps of the Virgin blessed Thérèse, that we may attain to an everlasting reward. Amen.

Background for this post is here .

Courtesy:

LITTLE FLOWER NOVENA

(Via EWTN.)

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

A Prayer to Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels.

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A Prayer to Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels.: “Heavenly King, You have given us archangels
to assist us during our pilgrimage on earth.
Saint Michael is our protector;
I ask him to come to my aid,
fight for all my loved ones,
and protect us from danger.
Saint Gabriel is a messenger of the Good News;
I ask him to help me
clearly hear Your voice
and to teach me the truth.
Saint Raphael is the healing angel;
I ask him to take my need for healing
and that of everyone I know,
lift it up to Your throne of grace
and deliver back to us the gift of recovery.
Help us, O Lord,
to realize more fully the reality of the archangels
and their desire to serve us.

Holy angels,
pray for us.

Amen.
“

(Via Catholic Doors.)

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Rosary Novena

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October 7th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Today would be a good day to start a rosary novena.

I am not going to post one daily, as I am “all novena’d out” what with the Little Flower Novena and the Three Archangels Novena currently on.

I trust you to grab your rosaries, think of a specific special intention, perhaps peruse the rosary links in the left sidebar, and pray your own novena.

Today is the first day, the ninth day would be October 7th.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)